''Ascotis selenaria'', the giant looper, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...

. The species was first described by

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

and

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775.

Subspecies

* ''Ascotis selenaria dianaria'' (Hübner, 1817) * ''Ascotis selenaria selenaria'' (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) * ''Ascotis selenaria artemis'' Staudinger, 1897 * ''Ascotis selenaria cretacea'' (Butler, 1879) * ''Ascotis selenaria reciprocaria'' (Walker) * ''Ascotis selenaria imparata'' (Walker)

Description

''Ascotis selenaria'' has a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of 38–48 mm. The front wings are characterized by a yellowish-white ground color, with numerous dark grey markings and two brownish sharply toothed transverse lines. The front and rear wings show distinctive moon shaped spots. The color and pattern of the caterpillars vary from green to yellow/green or brown resembling twigs. They have a characteristic bulbous swelling on the thorax and move with a looping motion as usual in measuring worms. The giant looper has two generations per year in southern Europe, flying from April to May and from July to August. The caterpillars can be found from September to October (first generation) and in June and July (second generation). If only one generation is present because of climate conditions, the moths fly from late June to early August, and the caterpillars can be encountered from August to September. The moths are nocturnal. Geometridae - Ascotis selenaria

The caterpillars reach a length up to 55 millimeters. They are polyphagous, feeding mainly on

field wormwood ''Artemisia campestris'' is a common and widespread species of plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is native to a wide region of Eurasia and North America. Common names include field wormwood, beach wormwood, northern wormwood, Breck ...

(''Artemisia campestris''), ''Sambucus'' sp.,

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

('' Rosa'' sp.),

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

(''Rubus fruticosus''),

broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

(''Cytisus scoparius''), ''Taraxacum'' sp.,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

(''Betula'' sp.), ''Arbutus'' sp., ''Pimpinella'' sp.,

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

(''Melilotus'' sp.),

cypress spurge ''Euphorbia cyparissias'', the cypress spurge, is a species of plant in the genus ''Euphorbia''. It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America in the 1860s as an ornamental plant. Natural habitat types include dunes, pannes, coast ...

('' Euphorbia'' sp.),

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

(''Mimosa longifolia''), ''Mimosa dealbata'', ''Salvia'' sp. and ''Salix glabra''. In India, the pest has been reported to infest on prosopis (''Prosopis juliflora''), ''Delonix regia'' and sal (''Shorea robusta'').Singh, P., & Thapa, R. S. (1988). Defoliation epidemic of Ascotis selenaria imparata Walk.(Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in sal forest of Asarori Range, West Dehra Dun Division. ''Indian Forester'', ''114''(5), 269-274Rabindra, R. J., Swamiappan, M., Parthasarathy, R., Subramanian, S., Kennedy, J. S., Sathiah, N., & Rajasekaran, B. (2003). Isolation and DNA characterisation of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus from the looper Boarmia (= Ascotis) selenaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). ''Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems'', ''9''(1), 49-53. A nucleopolyhedrovirus suppressing population of ''Ascotis seleneria'' has been reported in India. In many areas they are considered a pest causing serious damages to agriculture. They pupate and overwinter in the soil.

Distribution

This species is distributed in

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern regions of Europe, region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countrie ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

through the Balkans, in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

, in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

up to the Ural mountains,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

from the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

up to

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is also reported from India from

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

in the north and

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

in the south.

Habitat

These moths prefer rocky slopes, bushy forest edges and sandy pine forests.

References

* Beccaloni G.W., Scoble M.J., Robinson G.S. & Pitkin B. - The Global Lepidoptera Names Index * M. Wysoki, E. Swirski and S. Greenber, Y. Izha
The giant looper ''Boarmia'' (''Ascotis'') ''selenaria'' Schiff (Lepidoptera:Geometridae). A New Pest in Avocado Plantations in Israel
* Tetsu Ando, Kazuya Ohtani, Masanobu Yamamoto, Takashi Miyamoto, Xu-Rong Qin and Witjakson
Sex Pheromone of Japanese Giant Looper, ''Ascotis selenaria cretacea'': Identification and Field Tests
* Jim M. Waller, M. Bigger, Rory J. Hillock
Coffee Pests, Diseases and Their Management

External links

''Fauna Europaea''

''BioLib.cz''

''Lepiforum e.V.''

* * ttp://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/details/species/id/1052875 ''Catalogue of Life''* {{Authority control Boarmiini Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths of Africa Moths described in 1775